Oceana

Since we’re about to set off on a 24 hour bus trip from Santiago to San Pedro de Atacama, a town in one of they driest places on earth, I thought I’d schedule a post about one of our ongoing projects. My mother is a quilter and quilting teacher and author and she is awesome at what she does. Check it out!

Since Justin and I were married recently she has offered to make us a wedding quilt and so of course we wanted to find a way to make it unique. We had the bright idea to buy fabrics in each of the countries we visit and send them back to her, so that at the end of the trip she will have fabrics from all different parts of the world to work into a quilt. Then when we look at it we will be reminded of our travels, our wedding, and my talented mom! Pretty sweet.

We had an easy time in New Zealand. There was a specialty quilting fabric shop in Christchurch and all we had to do was pick patterns we liked and that seemed the most “New Zealandish” to us. We picked ferns, prints that reminded us of Maori designs, and some green and browns.

Our cruise with Captain Fiord and Fiordland Expeditions. This was an overnight cruise and we truly cannot say enough about how much we loved it, how pampered we were, and how much fun we had with the fishing, kayaking, and amazing food.

Paua Nite! Chris and Leah-Anne are some of the most gracious people we’ve met anywhere! And good cooks! And they have awesome kids. It was so incredible to meet people who live here and chat with them and hear about their lives and we absolutely hope some day they will come and visit us!!!

Mt. Cook. Incredibly beautiful. Awesome DOC campground.

Franz Josef glacier. It’s so cool.

Blackwater rafting and surfing. Both absolutely great experiences and things I had never tried before.

Hiking and wildlife and all things outdoors. There are birds and trails and swimming holes and seals and strange scenery and waterfalls and cool tree ferns EVERYWHERE here. It is not hard to find an awesome outdoorsy adventure every single day.

The Tongariro Crossing. Totally unique.

Lows:

Being rained out a couple of times. Most notably at Arthur’s Pass where the trail had turned into a flooded river.

One or two of the DOC camps were a little stinky. Filthy smelling restrooms and right next to the highway. That being said, we stayed in tons of them and it was only two that were a little unfortunate.

Mosquitos and sandflys. If you do a little research it’s not hard to predict where you’ll find them. But they are totally evil and Vinnie (our van) had no screens on his windows.

Queenstown madness. This was actually in a couple of places. Crowded town designed mostly to get tourists to spend their money. Not hard to avoid, but a bit of an eyesore, and sad because the countryside around needs no money spent to have an amazing experience. We mostly avoided these touristy places.

NZ coffee. The same everywhere, but always a milky, mediocre experience. (Except in Raglan and one place in Christchurch where we had very good coffee)

All in all, hardly any lows, and only minor. We’ve loved New Zealand and would definitely come back for another vacation, short or long. It’s an incredible country to visit. Easy to get around, friendly people, incredible scenery.

In New Zealand deer live on farms. This is where all the delicious venison comes from. But it’s still really strange to see an enormous fence with a very large herd of deer in a pasture.

Burgers here come with “salad.” That “salad” consists of the usual burger toppings – lettuce, tomato, etc. So if they ask if you want salad with your burger they are actually asking whether you want veggie toppings in your burger. Live and learn…

There is at least one “USA” themed restaurant. The food there is nothing like the food in the USA.

Kiwis pretty much only eat turkey at Christmas. We asked for some in a deli and were told they just don’t eat it that way.

We learned what a trig is! And if your hike has trig in the name then you should expect a long climb!

We’ve had a water-filled couple of days! We decided to go on a “blackwater” rafting trip, which involves climbing through giant caves and floating on a tube in the dark with a bunch of glowworms on the ceiling. It was a really good adventure, although pretty cold, despite the wetsuits. We climbed down into the cave and then waded through a long section of tunnel by light of headlamps attached to the helmets they provided. We got to jump off a couple of waterfalls (one was only about 2 feet high and the other was maybe 5 feet high) and then turned the lights off so we could have a gentle float and see the glowworms. That was really awesome – they looked like little stars and it was easy to forget that we were inside a cave. We paddled the rest of the way out of the cave and then got to go back and have hot soup and showers. It was a little touristy, but a totally unique experience. I had never been in such an extensive cave system before.

Ready to Surf!

The next day we headed to Raglan, which is known for its surfing. I had never surfed before, although Justin had gone in Hawaii, so we signed up for a lesson with Steve (a local instructor). We met up with him at his house and got fitted for our gear and then headed out to the ocean. It was pretty rough out there. The waves were good, but there was a strong rip current and it was pretty intimidating at first! The Tasman was a lot warmer than the water in the caves. Steve was a good teacher though, and we both managed to stand up on the surfboard by the end of the lesson! In fact, we liked it so much that we decided to stay for another day and take a second lesson. We had better luck with the ocean the second day and another great lesson. It was really fun to try something new!

Cape Reinga - the NORTH of New Zealand

Once we were done in Raglan we headed up to the far north of the North Island. We stayed in a couple of beautiful DOC campsites and saw some amazing beaches on the way up. We even got to have another swim in the ocean. There were a lot of mosquitos, which made for a sleepless night, but the views from the cape were well worth it.

We return our van tomorrow and leave the next day for Argentina, so we’re doing a lot of preparation for the next step.

We’ve had a water-filled couple of days! We decided to go on a “blackwater” rafting trip, which involves climbing through giant caves and floating on a tube in the dark with a bunch of glowworms on the ceiling. It was a really good adventure, although pretty cold, despite the wetsuits. We climbed down into the cave and then waded through a long section of tunnel by light of headlamps attached to the helmets they provided. We got to jump off a couple of waterfalls (one was only about 2 feet high and the other was maybe 5 feet high) and then turned the lights off so we could have a gentle float and see the glowworms. That was really awesome – they looked like little stars and it was easy to forget that we were inside a cave. We paddled the rest of the way out of the cave and then got to go back and have hot soup and showers. It was a little touristy, but a totally unique experience. I had never been in such an extensive cave system before.

On Saturday we did the Tongariro Crossing hike. This hike is one of the most famous in New Zealand and supposedly the best day hike in the country. It’s also 19.6 km long! That’s 12.1788754 miles and it’s not called an alpine crossing for nothing. It was a really cool experience and I’m so glad that my brother recommended it to us. It took us 6 hours and we pretty much walked nonstop with just a few quick breaks. The scenery was volcanic, colorful and spectacular. But we had to contend with gale force winds (not kidding) and tons of other tourists. They say that in peak season, on weekends 700 people a day do this trip. And that probably isn’t an exaggeration. You have to get a bus to one end of the trail and then have it pick you up at the other end – unless you’re absolutely crazy and want to walk both ways! We loved it!!!

Volcanic Rock

Pretty desolate

It was windy up there

Red Crater

Emerald and Sapphire Lakes

The woman in this picture isn’t just sitting down to rest. This slope was very steep and very slippery, so everyone pretty much slid down. She happened to fall just when I took the picture.

More Red Crater

It was hard to take too many good shots because the weather was really questionable and I was mostly focused on hiking. That night we found a DOC campsite (free!) at a river and got to have an awesome swim to wash all the dirt away. Such an amazing day.

We were pretty sore the next day though, so no hiking at all. We drove up a mountain instead – Mt. Taranaki.

We were happy to have the chance on our way up to catch the ferry back to the North Island to spend another night in Christchurch. The place we stayed at Christmas was really good, so we had another night there. We also had a chance to sample a local brewery’s beer. This was the Twisted Hop and we really liked their beer. In fact, their IPA ended up being both of our favorite in NZ so far!

Favorite NZ beer so far - in Christchurch

The next day we continued up the coast and stopped in at Kaikoura – known for its whale watching and sea life. We didn’t go out on a boat, but we did go on a hike that was full of seals and birds. There was a Red-Eyed Gull breeding colony along the way and birds just everywhere. The beach there was pretty unique too. Really unusual rocks.

Birds

Beach walk at Kaikoura

Baby gull

Really crazy rocks

More birds

On our way back through town after the hike we noticed a wine bar, so we checked that out. It had something I’d never seen before, but Justin had in Italy – wine dispensing machines. They would give you either a small taste, a half glass, or a full glass and just keep track of the prices of what you drank so you could pay at the end. Pretty nifty!

This photo was taken on one of the first “Trig” hikes we ever took. Trigs are little pyramids that New Zealanders put atop their hills so they can tell how far stuff is. I know, weird. But I guess it could work. Hazel is imitating the tree in the background in this photo.

Exploring a Massive Cave

Hazel discovered a gigantic cave at the top of one of our hill climbs. It was filled with stalactites! WoHoo! How far down can you go?!?

Franz Josef Glacier

This is a sweet pic of the river that flows out from under a glacier. Makes sense, eh?

Hooker Valley Track Bridge @ Mt. Cook

This is from one of the most beautiful alpine tracks we’ve walked on. A rickety bridge starts it off.

The Hut on Hooker Valley Track

A WC Hut in the middle of the track.

Glacial Stream @ Hooker Valley Track

A bright blue stream from glacial runoff in the middle of the track.

Glacial Lake @ Hooker Valley Track

Us + Glacial Lake

The lake at the bottom of the Hooker Glacier, a little less dramatic than Franz Josef. But it had its own serenity.

Ready for Stargazing @ Mt. John

Here’s what we were outfitted in before we went up to a summit to view stars. Not pictured are our socks-and-sandals.

Hazel Topping Key Summit

This was a really remarkable hike starting at the Divide on the way to Milford Sound. We got to the top of the mountain, and here is the proof!

Hazel's On A Boat

Obligatory “On a Boat” picture

Serenity on Doubtful Sound

This shows just how alone one can feel out in the boondocks of Fiordland. This picture looks out on the Tasman Sea.

Albatross on the Tasman Sea near the Thompson Sound

When we were about to start fishing, we were greeted by the friendly neighborhood ALBATROSS! So huge! The picture doesn’t do it justice but it must’ve had an 8 foot wingspan.

Hazel kissing her First Fish Ever

Finally. Hazel, after only 5 minutes of fishing in Proper Conditions catches her first fish, a Sea Perch. She was made to kiss it by our friendly captain Fiord — who said we wouldn’t get off the boat until Hazel caught her first fish. Luckily it was a good day!

The Shark Andre Caught

The Shark #2

This was huge. And amazing. And scary. Basically Andre was a hero.

Hazel and her First Fish Ever

Since we hadn’t had enough of her first fish, we got it out of the “to be dinner” bucket and photographed it again :)

Sunset on Doubtful Sound

Hazel's Eye reflecting Doubtful Sound

Sunset on Doubtful Sound #2

Sunset on Doubtful Sound #3

Moon + Sunset on Doubtful Sound

These photos reflect the beauty of the Sounds at sunset. Also how grateful we were to finally crawl into bed after seeing dolphins, pulling up lobster pots, fishing, kayaking, and eating. Did I mention eating?

Morning on Doubtful Sound

Morning on Doubtful Sound #2

The infamous Morning After. This one wasn’t so bad!

Hazel Perched on the Tongariro Alpine Crossing

Hazel Conquering the Tongariro Alpine Crossing

Hazel Walking Into The Light

These photos represent our initial experience of Tongariro — a steep hike up rocky volcanic ground, only to cross a huge, barren crater.

Tongariro's Red Crater

Then we found out what a real crater looks like.

Us Atop the Red Crater

The Red crater was also the highest altitude we attained on the Crossing, a whopping 1886 meters high!

Tongariro's Emerald Lakes

Tongariro's Emerald Lakes #2

This is the icing on the cake, after peaking Red Crater you get to lope down loose soil to see the beautiful Emerald Lakes.

Blustery Wind and Hazel the Photographer

We had gale-force winds up at the top, and were worried about falling into a crater almost the whole time!

Hazel + Lake Rotoaira + Lake Taupo

Here’s the view at the end of the Crossing — serene and pastoral. Mission Accomplished.

Hope you liked my Best Of – this is a great selection from the photos I’ve taken so far!

Finally I’ve found some time and a fast internet connection, so I can get some photos up. This post has some photo highlights from the Catlans, Milford Sound and the area, and our overnight cruise on Doubtful Sound.

It has been a while since I’ve managed an update. We’ve had a busy and amazing time recently and have been very, very lucky.

Since the last post we took the southern scenic route around the bottom of the South Island. This took us through the Catlans region and then up into Fiordland. All in all we’ve had pretty good weather (except at Milford Sound), so we’ve been able to do some really good hikes and see lots of incredible scenery!

Beach in the Catlans at Sunset

We saw more penguins, did a beautiful river walk and met some incredibly nice people who shared their campfire one night. There are loads of waterfalls in the Catlans, so I had a chance to practice taking some waterfall photos.

We had a huge adventure getting to Milford Sound as we realized part-way that we would not have enough gas in our tiny tank to make it back if we went all the way to the Sound. There is no gas anywhere along the route, so running out would be pretty annoying, as would turning back and not seeing it. We found ourselves at a hut where a few of the hikes start and managed to talk our way onto a bus that was passing through. It ended up being really good because the road was incredibly scenic (despite the rain) and we both got to enjoy it instead of having to think about the very windy road. It also ended up giving us only about 1.5 hours at the sound, but we didn’t mind that because we were saving our boat trip for Doubtful Sound and it was really poor visability. We paid the bus driver and he told us “this never happened” and we went on our way.

The road to Milford is just incredible, with waterfalls everywhere and the steepest cliffs – highly recommend a whole day just to explore that road.

The next day we did a hike up to Key Summit (still before getting gas) and got some incredible views of the valleys and mountains. I’m not going to have time to get pictures up, but I really will try in the next few days!

Our boat trip to Doubtful Sound was absolutely AWESOME! We went with Fiordland Expeditions and it totally exceeded anything I had imagined.

Doubtful Sound

We had all the lobster and blue cod we could eat. Which it turns out is quite a lot! We also got to catch both of these things and they were cooked fresh right there on the boat. I caught not only my first fish, but three more as well! We actually went all the way out to the Tasman Sea for fishing and it was totally unreal (unreel?) how easy it was to hook a fish. Except for the guy who caught a 5 foot shark! Absolutely incredible!

We also went kayaking, did a little stargazing and Justin jumped off the ship’s helicopter pad. I jumped off something a little lower, but it was awesome that we had such perfect weather that we could swim. Everyone kept saying that they hardly ever have that much sun there.

But that wasn’t even the end of the seafood. The kind people who shared their campfire invited us to their beautiful home to try Paua (abalone!). So straight off the boat we drove back across the country and had another amazing seafood feast and wonderful evening of conversation (and showers and laundry!) at their house. Much to my surprise I really liked the Paua and ate both strips of it and ground up patties. It’s a pretty off-putting black and blue color on the outside, but it tastes delicious! We also had fish and chips style blue cod. It’s amazing how generous people are as we would never have been able to try Paua like that. Chris knows how and where to dive for them and snatched them that same day off the rocks! You aren’t allowed to tank dive to get them, so it takes quite a bit of know-how. We’re hoping that one day we’ll be able to return the favor, but we were having trouble thinking of truly American food besides hot dogs and twinkies.

My internet time is almost run out, even though I could go on and on about the last week. We’re on our way back to the North Island now and going into intensive Spanish practice mode to get ready for South America at the end of the month.